Follow-up after treatment for vaginal cancer
Follow-up care lets your healthcare team keep track of your health for a period of time after treatment ends. This important part of cancer care is often shared among the cancer specialists and your family doctor or gynecologist. They will help you recover from treatment side effects and monitor you for any signs that the cancer has come back (recurred).
Schedule for follow-up visits
Don't wait until your next scheduled appointment to report any new symptoms and symptoms that don't go away. Tell your healthcare team if you have:
- pain or an increase in pain in the abdomen, pelvis, back or legs
- bleeding or discharge from the vagina that is different from your normal menstrual period
- vaginal bleeding if you have reached menopause
- new changes in bladder or bowel habits
- swelling in the legs
The chance that vaginal cancer will come back is greatest within 3 years, so close follow-up is needed during this time.
Follow-up visits for vaginal cancer are usually scheduled:
- every 3 months for the first year
- every 4 months for the second year
- every 6 months for the third, fourth and fifth years
During follow-up visits
During a follow-up visit, your healthcare team will usually ask questions about the side effects of treatment and how you’re coping.
Your doctor may do a physical exam, including:
- a pelvic exam and rectal exam
- a Pap test – even if surgery has been done
- feeling the lymph nodes in the pelvis and groin
Tests are often part of follow-up care. You may have:
- blood tests
- imaging tests, such as a chest x-ray, a PET scan or a CT scan of the chest, pelvis or abdomen
If the cancer has come back, you and your healthcare team will discuss your treatment and care.
Find out more about follow-up
The following are questions that you can ask the healthcare team about follow-up after treatment for cancer. Choose the questions that fit your situation and add questions of your own. You may find it helpful to take the list to the next appointment and to write down the answers.
- What is the schedule for follow-up visits?
- How often is follow-up scheduled with the cancer specialist?
- Who is responsible for follow-up visits?
- What will happen at a follow-up visit?
- What tests are done on a regular basis? How often are they done?
- Are there any symptoms that should be reported right away? Who do I call?
- Who can help me cope with long-term side effects of treatment?